Kinetic field theory: Non-linear cosmic power spectra in the mean-field approximation

Abstract

We use the recently developed Kinetic Field Theory (KFT) for cosmic structure formation to show how non-linear power spectra for cosmic density fluctuations can be calculated in a mean-field approximation to the particle interactions. Our main result is a simple, closed and analytic, approximate expression for this power spectrum. This expression has two parameters characterising non-linear structure growth which can be calibrated within KFT itself. Using this self-calibration, the non-linear power spectrum agrees with results obtained from numerical simulations to within typically $\lesssim 10\%$ up to wave numbers $k\lesssim 10h{\mathrm{Mpc}}^{-1}$ at redshift $z=0$. Adjusting the two parameters to optimise agreement with numerical simulations, the relative difference to numerical results shrinks to typically $\lesssim 5\%$. As part of the derivation of our mean-field approximation, we show that the effective interaction potential between dark-matter particles relative to Zel'dovich trajectories is sourced by non-linear cosmic density fluctuations only, and is approximately of Yukawa rather than Newtonian shape.

19 pages, 6 figures, to be submitted to SciPost Physics

References in corpus (4)

• The Effective Field Theory of Cosmological Large Scale Structures
• Trajectories of point particles in cosmology and the Zel'dovich approximation
• Non-equilibrium statistical field theory for classical particles: Basic kinetic theory
• The adhesion model as a field theory for cosmological clustering

Cited by in corpus (1)

• A first comparison of Kinetic Field Theory with Eulerian Standard Perturbation Theory